Every year, Kent’s Graduate School hosts the Postgraduates Researchers’ Showcase Festival, giving postgraduates a fantastic opportunity to highlight their research and engage with other students and staff from across the university.

We are delighted to share the achievements and recognition of three of our postgraduates in particular, Katy Bruce, Leon Schoonderwoerd and Henry Sheehy. Here’s what they have to say about the event.

Katy Bruce – Outstanding Research Poster in the Sciences

“I have always been able to convey my thoughts in a piece of prose but have great difficulty making them aesthetically pleasing. I have very little artistic flair or creativity so producing a pretty poster was a real challenge for me!

“I was incredibly surprised, therefore, to receive the award for best poster in the Sciences, but am delighted my hard work has paid off and I look forward to spending the £100 prize voucher!”

Leon Schoonderwoerd – Selected to speak in the Kent Research Talks Section

“I found the Researchers’ Showcase quite an exciting event. It was fun to see the whole breadth of research at Kent. Applying was as easy as sending in an abstract (although between applying and the Showcase, the speaking time was cut in half, so covering everything I had promised in my abstract turned out a challenge).

Finally, it is always interesting to try and cast highly abstract research into a form that is understandable and interesting for scientists and non-scientists alike.”

Photo credit: Manuel Marques

Henry Sheehy – Runner Up Prize for the Three Minute Thesis Competition

“3MT is an exciting opportunity and I am grateful to the organisers. Applying was the easiest part. Preparing my talk was an enjoyable though challenging process. The most difficult part is of course giving the talk, but this public interaction comes with great personal growth.

Finally, my runners’ up prize has enabled me to attend summer schools towards my research area which I would not have otherwise been able to attend. I hope I encourage others to participate, though perhaps I’ll regret having done so when I reapply next year!”

Congratulations to all of our PhD students who participated at the Researcher’s Showcase Event this year, you were all fantastic! If you’d like to get involved for 2020, look out for further details in our Student Newsletters and on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. To find out what to expect, take a look at the video below.